


Sympathy

by Yessica



Series: Right, how could this possibly go wrong? [5]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-25 19:58:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12043167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yessica/pseuds/Yessica
Summary: 5 Times Papyrus comforted Flowey and the one time it was the other way around.





	Sympathy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AnonJ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnonJ/gifts).



> This time it's a gift for AJ. They commissioned me so often, I thought I needed to do something in return to thank them.

1.

Papyrus can't remember when they first met. If it was long ago or a short while, months or just a few days.

It all flows together.

Flowey hurt him sometimes and Papyrus smiled. Then Flowey didn't hurt him and he smiled even more.

He dies and comes back and visits Flowey because that's what best friends do.

He's upset, Papyrus has never seen Flowey upset before and somewhere it hurts. Something vital inside his soul that just doesn't fit right.

"I don't think I can do this anymore." Flowey says, hushed and broken. "I just want it to stop."

Sometimes Papyrus wants it to stop too, but he can't say that right now, cause it wouldn't help.

"You're not alone anymore though." He tells Flowey instead.

His new best friend doesn't look like he believes him, but nods, and Papyrus realizes that will have to do for now.

2.

After that he dies again, but when he comes back it's worse.

Papyrus doesn't understand why, until he does and then he kind of wishes he didn't because it makes him feel sick.

And for the first time since meeting him, Flowey seems to him like the child Papyrus had realized for a while now he used to be.

He doesn't care much for his own life, but hearing Flowey has experienced death makes him feel cold in ways unimaginable.

And he feels powerless because he lacks the words to make anything of this any less horrible.

So he holds Flowey instead.

Bone against petals and vines and maybe what's happening now between them, has been happening for a while now, shouldn't be. But it's too late for that.

It's too late for any of them.

3.

Then the other shoe drops.

Papyrus knew it would eventually but maybe not quite that quickly and he has a broken arm and a stolen soul and a best friend who thinks he is a god.

Which isn't half as great as it sounds.

Flowey is distressed again but not in the same way. A way more foreign to Papyrus then he'd like to admit.

And sometimes words won't be enough. Sometimes a simple touch won't suffice.

So he waits instead. And perhaps Flowey doesn't feel like talking, the fight went out of him together with his newly acquired souls, so Papyrus doesn't speak either as the life drains away from the world around them.

Sans is probably wondering where he is by now, but Papyrus finds he couldn't care less.

He stays until he knows it's enough, until Flowey taps his knee wordlessly and is maybe kind of not really smirking.

Then Papyrus gets up and leaves.

4.

There are certain downsides to being stuck in a flowerpot too.

The most obvious one of course is the lack of mobility.

A less obvious one: being mistaken for an actual houseplant.

Calming down an enraged Flowey has pretty much become a skill for Papyrus now. It's all in the job description of a best friend.

"I am going to kill the next human that asks me to wiggle around and sing 'dancing on sunshine'. And then I'll kill myself."

"You're being over dramatic." Papyrus tells him, while Flowey huffs like a petulant child and stares daggers at him. "It's not that bad."

"How would you know." His friend all but spits, and there's something bitter there. "Everybody either treats me like a toy or like I'm still a chil-"

The words die away and he stops, frowns.

"How about we go home instead." Papyrus says. "Just the two of us."

Flowey thinks it over, smiles. "Yeah, I think that would be fine."

5.

The night before they tell them, Flowey breaks. And it's a mess, because emotions isn't his strong suit, isn't even Papyrus' strong suit either to be honest and it's been too long since he has known fright.

Right now he's scared out of his mind.

"What if they're mad? What if they hate us?" He mumbles endlessly, and Papyrus holds the pot so close he can feel Flowey tremble against his rib cage.

"You don't care about that." He states matter of factly, and his (now) datemate locks eyes with him.

"No, but you do."

It's one of the more considerate things Flowey has said to him, but Papyrus doesn't dwell on it right now. He brushes against Flowey's leaves instead, a bit like petting a cat.

"They won't." He says, even if he can't be certain of that at all. But he's the positive one so by god he'll be positive about this too. "They'll be fine with it."

"You can't know that." Flowey hisses predictably, seeing right through him as always, but at least the touches helped him settle down, staring up at Papyrus with impatient eyes.

"Of course not." He says, because lying to his best friend is bad and also trial and error learned him it doesn't work anyway. "I just... have a hunch."

It's not convincing at all, probably, but it works.

"Right. A hunch." Flowey repeats. He leans into Papyrus' touches and they decide not to go to sleep that night.

+1

Flowey should have seen this coming.

That's what he tells himself, over and over and over until it's burned into him, like a mark of shame.

He should have seen this coming but he didn't and now he gets to reap the storm.

Papyrus is strong, steadfast, and he has seen worse, seen death and lived it too. So when he breaks he breaks hard, irreparable, and Flowey can't do anything but watch it happen.

And he hates himself for it.

"I'm so tired." Papyrus says, softly, and it's too quite. He breaks down without so much as a sound and from a monster normally that loud it makes Flowey uncomfortable beyond words.

"I'm so tired of pretending."

The silence cuts but there's nothing to say.

"You don't need to pretend for me." Flowey tells him, and Papyrus smiles but it's more fragile than the thin sheets of ice they used to get on the lakes in Snowdin forest. So brittle it will shatter under any pressure.

"I know." Papyrus says, and he closes his eyes to lock out the world, and Flowey with it. "It's nice."

There's not much he can do about it, so he kisses Papyrus instead. On the forehead, each of his eye sockets, just above the nasal bridge.

It works, because his datemate's breathing evens out eventually, eased into a pained sigh.

"We'll figure this out." Flowey says because he believes it. It's dark and cold, but they're together and between the two of them they'll figure everything out.

**Author's Note:**

> [My Tumblr](http://sharada-n.tumblr.com/)


End file.
